Bewitched

Sweden's Bewitched stands apart from the dominant currents of Scandinavian metal by steering clear of death, black, and Viking styles, even while adopting the familiar corpse-paint aesthetic; instead the group revives the raw thrash approach that dominated the early and middle 1980s. Observers sometimes place the band—launched in 1995 by vocalist Vargher (Marcus Norman), guitarist Blackheim (Anders Nyström), bassist Wrathyr (Kristofer Olivius), and drummer Reaper—further back still, likening its sound to the speed-metal template set by Venom and Exciter. After promptly joining the French independent label Osmose, the quartet issued its debut full-length, Diabolical Desecration, in March 1996 and then embarked on a European trek alongside Ancient Rites and Sacramentum. The all-covers EP Encyclopedia of Evil, containing renditions of material by Venom, Mercyful Fate, and additional acts, came next and paved the way for the widely praised second album Pentagram Prayer in 1997. Momentum faltered when Reaper and Blackheim departed, the latter to devote himself entirely to his doom/goth metal endeavor Katatonia, yet Bewitched elected to continue and recruited Guillotine guitarist Spider together with drummer Stormlord (Ulf Andersson). While on a German tour the revised lineup captured the live release Hell Comes to Essen in 1998. At the Gates of Hell followed in 2000, and Rise of the Antichrist appeared in 2002 with new guitarist Hellfire onboard; both records fueled expanded international dates that included inaugural appearances in the U.S. and Mexico.